Lyra's New Friend
by Aseku
Summary: Lyra's got a new friend who can't remember where she's from. And she causing trouble!! Will Lyra be able to get her home before she annoys her to the brink of insanity? Please r&r! Flamers welcome. Even a bad review is a review.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the His Dark Materials characters. Don't sue me, I'm flat broke.

Author's Note: I, of course, am represented by Aseku. Any of you idiots who couldn't figure that out need help. Anyways, I wrote this on a day when I got very little sleep and I wasn't feeling all that great. Meaning, if you want complete and utter INSANITY you'll have to read my other stories.

Meetings

Lyra Silvertongue walked quietly through the streets of her Oxford, thinking of adventure and travel. She was bored. Vaguely she thought of going to visit Iorek in Svalbard, but later decided against it. She would have to go through all of that trouble of hiring a zepplin, and packing her stuff, and all of the usual traveling junk. After all, she could just send Pan over to get news about him, if she was desperate to know. Suddenly, Lyra heard a scream from up above her, and a girls body landed in a heap in front of her. Worried, Lyra ran over to investigate, while Pantalaimon started nudging her dæ mon.

"Are you ok?" asked Lyra, worriedly. Pantalaimon rubbed against her dæ mon's body.

"Yeah," replied the girl weakly, getting up, "Where am I, though?"

"You're in Oxford." replied Lyra, "Where did you come from?"

"I came from… from… uhhh…I don't really know." said the girl, "My name's Aseku, what's yours?"

"I'm Lyra." replied Lyra, and then she added, "Oh, and this is Pantalaimon," and she indicated the red-gold marten at her feet with what she could only guess was the girl, Aseku's dæ mon. Seeing where Lyra was looking, Aseku quickly added, "Oh that's Sharnep. He's my dæ mon." The snowy owl was slowly getting up, and shaking himself off. After a minute or two, he flew up to Aseku's shoulder, where the girl stroked his chest.

"Umm… well… since you don't know where you're from, why don't you stay with me for a while," suggested Lyra, "Me and Pan are staying at Jordan College."

"Where?" asked Aseku, confused.

"The big building over there." said Lyra, pointing. Aseku agreed, and soon the girls were walking towards the college, talking. "So you can't remember _anything_ about where you came from?" said Lyra, shocked, "I mean, I couldn't even dream of forgetting all of the places I've been!" The girl just shrugged and said nothing. For a few minutes, an uneasy silence filled the air. To break the tension, Lyra finally asked, "So, how old are you?"

"I'm fourteen." answered Aseku, "How old are you?"

"Same." said Lyra. Suddenly, a rat darted across the street in front of them. Aseku screamed, and, in an instant, Sharnep had leapt off of Aseku's shoulder and changed into a cat to chase after it. A few minutes later, Sharnep returned, proudly carrying the rat, and laid it at Aseku's feet. Aseku sighed and picked Sharnep up, saying, 

"That was a close one, huh Nep?" Lyra stared as the cat in Aseku's arms slowly changed back into an owl, and perched on her shoulder once more. Lyra was in shock.

"But your… he can't have… you're too old… he just…"

"What?" asked Aseku, looking very concerned for her new friend, "I know rats are bad, but don't worry. Me'n Nep have been doing this all our lives. We haven't died yet! You know, I'm beginning to think that whole 'Curse of the Rat' thing is a hoax. Don't you?" she turned to her new friend to find her still staring at Sharnep in disbelief. "Are you ok?"

"But your dæ mon," said Lyra, very shaken, "You're too old for him to be able to change shape."

"Oh, is that all?" asked Aseku, waving it off, "That's nothing. For a minute there, we were afraid that the Curse of the Rat was real, and he'd stolen your soul! Oh well, as for Nep, well, I guess we're kinda special. See, one of the earliest things that I remember is someone telling us, 'That dæ mon's special, girl. He'll be able to change forever.' and that's about all I can remember."

"You mean you can't remember your mother or father at all?" asked Lyra, thinking of her own parents, "No brothers or sisters or anything?"

"Nope!" replied Aseku, "But that's ok. I figure, if there was anything important to remember, we'd remember it, right Nep?" she stroked her dæ mon once more, and he rubbed his head against her cheek. Lyra felt a strong sense of pity for this poor girl, all alone in a strange new world, but her thoughts were interrupted by Aseku waving her hands in front of Lyra's face, saying, "Uhh, Lyra? Are you ok?"

"Sure!" she replied, brightly, snapping out of her thoughts, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well," said Aseku, "You were just standing there, not moving, and we thought you might have gone into a trance or something." Lyra noticed Sharnep staring closely at her with his big, amber eyes. She jumped, and he immediately pulled his head back.

"So, why does Sharnep like to take the owl form?" asked Lyra, as much out of curiosity as for the sake of changing the subject. Those huge eyes were WEIRD!

"I dunno." replied Aseku, "He just does. Of course, another of his favorite forms is his battle form. Let's show her, Nep!" The dæ mon flew off of her shoulder, and landed on the ground before he started transforming. A minute later, a full sized Dragon reared up in front of Lyra, spitting fire and roaring loudly. Lyra was impressed.

"Nice job!" she called to the still roaring dragon, "I'm really impressed!"

"That's not all." yelled Aseku, eager to show off her dæ mon's abilities, "He's got poisonous fangs, and poisonous claws, and SHOW HER YOUR TAIL, NEP!!" she yelled. The dragon looked down at her briefly before swinging his massive tail forward. Lyra saw glistening inch-long spike protruding from it every few inches. Sub-consciously, she stepped back a step, hugging Pantalaimon to her chest. Seeming to think that she'd impressed Lyra enough, Aseku yelled, "Alright Nep, come on back down!" Quickly, Sharnep shrank back down to owl form, and once again perched on Aseku's shoulder. Lyra was at a loss for words.

"I… that was… wow." she said at last, "That was really cool." Aseku looked pleased.

"So, did Pantalaimon ever do anything like that when you were younger?" asked Aseku. Lyra was about to answer when she heard Mrs. Lonsdale calling her. Looking left, she saw her beckoning her over. This was where Aseku began to get somewhat shy. "Umm… I'll just be going now, ok? Come on Nep." Quickly, Aseku turned, steadying Sharnep with her hand as she turned.

"Wait, Aseku! Come back!" But Aseku just kept walking. Taking a shot in the dark, Lyra yelled out, "Fine then, be a chicken!!" That touched a nerve. As Lyra would learn soon, Aseku was very prideful.

"What?!" she snapped, eyes blazing. She turned to face Lyra and Pan, "Do I have hearing problems, or did I just hear you say that I'm a chicken?" There was a dangerous fire in Aseku's eyes, and Lyra didn't want to push her too far, but she could feel Pantalaimon tensed for a fight. 

"Not now Pan, you know we could never beat that dragon dæ mon of hers." slowly, Pantalaimon relaxed, looking disappointed. "Maybe some other time." she whispered, soothingly, "Let's just get her to be our friend for now."


	2. Evil Rats, and SHarnep's Secret Revealed...

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the His Dark Materials characters. The only characters that I do own are Aseku and Sharnep.

Author's Note: Just thought I might fill you all in on the current time. This is after the book ends. In other words, Pantalaimon has settled in his marten form, and Lyra's 14 (for all of you bright people who didn't catch that in the last chapter). Aseku is also 14, and it will be revealed to you later why her dæ mon can still change shape. Yes, Will will be showing up soon, don't think I'm going to leave him out of the fun! ;p Now then, this is an A/U where the knife was never broken, so you can guess what sort of trouble Will and Lyra are going to get into this time. ;)

Evil Rats, and Sharnep's Secret Revealed

Somehow, Lyra had managed to calm the fiery temper of Aseku, and lure her inside for some lunch. Now that Aseku had eaten, she was much more talkative, and for some reason, bouncing off the walls.

" WOW!!!! What was in that drink?! I liked it a whole lot! A whole WHOLE lot!!! Can I have some more?!?! Please?! Huh?! Can I ? Huh? Huh?! Can I? PLEEEEEEEASE?!?!" startled by the girl's energy, Mrs. Lonsdale was silenced for a few moments, ducking every so often as Sharnep, fly-formed now, went careening past her head. When she recovered, she quietly signaled to Lyra that they were out of the drink that Aseku was asking for.

"Uh… don't you think you've had enough to drink for now, Aseku?" said Lyra, "Why don't we… go… see the Master of Jordan College and see if you can stay here for a while." Instantly distracted, Aseku replied,

"Yeah SURE!!!" and bounded down the nearest hall with a now cheetah shaped Sharnep. A few minutes later, she returned, looking sheepish. "Uhhh… why don't I let you lead the way to the Master? I forgot, I don't have the slightest clue where I'm going, heheh." Sharnep was on her shoulder now, mouse-formed.

"Sure," she replied, amazed at the girl's speed, "Ummm… let's go." So she set off in the opposite direction from the one the girl had just come from, Aseku trailing behind her. After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at a large wooden door.

"Is this it?!" asked Aseku, sheepish no more, "COOL!! Let's go in!!!!!" Before Lyra could answer, both Aseku and a now-phoenix formed Sharnep bounded in. It took Lyra a few minutes to realize what had just happened. Quickly, she shook her head and ran in the room after Aseku. Inside, she found a very loud introduction going on. Namely, Aseku was shouting, "HI!!! I'M ASEKU!!! WHO ARE YOU?!?!" The Master was looking very confused and slightly taken aback by this intrusion.

"I- well- you…" he spluttered. Lyra saw her chance and took it. Running inside, she said,

"Sir, I beg your forgiveness for this intrusion. This is my friend Aseku. She doesn't know where she came from, and she needs a place to stay for a while, so I was thinking that she could stay here I mean if that's all right with you and all?" Lyra looked up into the stunned face of the Master, his crow dæ mon eyeing Aseku and Sharnep suspiciously. After a minute, he spoke,

"She doesn't know where she's from? I think you'd better tell me the whole story, Lyra." So Lyra sat down in a chair next to the Master's, and began telling him everything that had happened since that morning. "So you don't remember where you ate breakfast even?" asked the Master, staring at Aseku.

"Actually, sir, I didn't eat breakfast." said Aseku, grinning. Then, her expression faltered. "Or maybe I did… No, wait a minute, I think that was yesterday… Or was it today?" Her expression cleared, "Ah yes, I remember now! I _did_ eat breakfast today. I had breakfast in some other place called Oxford with a boy named Will… Slice? No, that's not it… Thrust? No, that's not right either… AH! I've got it! It was Will Parry! I knew it was some sort of sword technique…" If nothing else Aseku had said had shocked Lyra, this did.

"Will?!?!" she half-shrieked, looking extremely excited.

"Yeah." said Aseku, thoughtfully, "And I just remembered, I was supposed to give you a message. Now what was it…"

*Flashback*

Will is opening a portal to Lyra's world with the knife, and shoving Aseku through. "Say hello to Lyra for me!!!" and he walked away.

*End Flashback*

"Oh yeah! Will said to say hello to Lyra for him! HI LYRA!!!" Lyra was feeling faint.

"Will… still… has… the knife? That jerk!! Why didn't he come and see me yet?!?!" Lyra was just about to go on one of her infamous yelling sprees when a rat ran across the room. Nobody but Aseku and Sharnep seemed to take much notice of it. However, in an instant, Aseku had gasped. and Sharnep had leapt off of Aseku's shoulder in cat form to kill the poor animal. He had it cornered, when the Master yelled,

"Stop! What are you doing?!" Everyone in the room froze, even the rat.

"Well," said Sharnep, speaking for the first time that Lyra had heard, "I was about to kill this rat. Do you have a problem with that?!" At once he changed into a smaller version of his dragon form and growled menacingly at the Master before turning back to the rat and sinking his fangs into it. The little beast squeaked like mad before falling limp in Sharnep's mouth. The dæ mon then dropped the rat, changed into an owl, and flew back to Aseku's shoulder.

"But you're too old to be able to change!!" yelled the Master, "You're fourteen!! Your dæ mon should have taken a fixed form by now!!"

"Well it hasn't!" yelled Aseku, just as loud, "And I would appreciate it if you didn't YELL SO MUCH!! WE JUST SAVED YOUR SOULS!!!" This got the Master's attention.

"What?" he asked, confused, "Saved our souls? What are you talking about?"

"Duh! The rat!! Are you honestly that dim?! You know, the Curse of the Rat! Rat runs by, steals your soul? Ringing any bells here genius?" The Master stared at Aseku with a mixture of surprise and respect on his face.

"So it's you." he murmured, "You're the long-awaited hero. Imagine, our champion in the form of a little girl…"

"HEY!" shouted Aseku, "I am NOT a little girl!! Bet I could kick the crap out of you in a fight!" Looking angry, Aseku pulled out a dagger that Lyra hadn't noticed earlier.

"So THAT'S it." said the Master, staring at the dagger, "That's the Eternal Blade. Tell me Aseku, how did you come across this blade?" 

"Why do you care?!" shot back Aseku, her eyes blazing, "It's mine and you can't have it!"

"No no, you misunderstand me, child-"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!!"

"Right, sorry. What I meant was that you are destined to do great things. Your dæ mon can still change shape because you are a long-awaited hero. A savior of sorts."

"What?" asked Aseku, lowering the knife.

"You are destined to overthrow the evils of the Universe with that dagger of yours, The Eternal Blade. It is also called Evil's Bane, and Doom Striker. It is a very-"

"Yeah yeah, name your point. I'm not getting any younger over here!" said Aseku, yawning widely. The Master looked taken aback at being talked to so rudely, but he held his tongue and said,

"You will be put through many trials, child, but I have great faith that you will master them all. I wish you good fortune. You may stay here as long as you wish, on one condition."

"That being…"

"That being that when you set out once more, you will be accompanied by Lyra here."

"Ok… why?"

"Because she also has a very important role to play in this. I believe that I am right in saying that the portal from another world that you came through was left open?" inquired the Master.

"Yes…" replied Aseku, slowly.

"Then it is as I thought. This will also require the use of the subtle knife. Therefore bringing it and it's bearer into this plan."

"Whatever. I'm going to go and mess around outside now." said Aseku, and she promptly walked off.

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Well guys, what did you think? I'm not posting again unless I get at least 5 reviews. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!! Later! ;)


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